Widower praises new effort to find killer

ABU DHABI // A widower has welcomed the renewed efforts by police to catch his wife's killer. More than three years after Mary Ann Wong was found dead in her home in Al Ain, police in the capital this week offered Dh50,000 (US$14,000) to anyone who offered information on the whereabouts of Mario Parangalan, a 40-year-old Filipino. Parangalan was convicted of the murder in 2006, but remains at large. It is the first time police have offered a reward for help in capturing a criminal. Wong's widower, Charles Wong, a 52-year-old IT manager now living in Riyadh, said: "I have no doubt that the UAE authorities are doing their best to bring the convicted killer to justice." Mrs Wong, 45, was found strangled on Sept 15, 2005. Maria Rema Bancoro, who was also staying in the flat, also suffered stab wounds to her neck, but said she managed to fend off the assailant. "I believe we are heading towards the right direction by allowing the public to come forward and help locate his whereabouts," he said. Parangalan was convicted of the murder by Al Ain Sharia Court in his absence and sentenced to life imprisonment. A few months after Mrs Wong's death in 2005, Mr Wong left his job in Al Ain and returned to their family home in Pasig City, in the Philippines. He joined a dairy company in Riyadh in March 2007 and will be going home to the Philippines next month. Parangalan was a computer engineer who arrived in the country in July 2005 to search for a job, according to Mr Wong. "I thought of him as a friend," he said. On Sept 2, Mr Wong went to Dubai to fetch Parangalan and offered to let him stay temporarily in his home in Murajeb, Al Ain. "His visit visa was about to expire. I told him that I would check with my company if they could approve my proposal to hire him as a computer engineer in charge of equipment maintenance," he said. But on Sept 14, he informed Parangalan that a manager had told him to wait until the position had been budgeted for, which would not be until at least January 2006. Mr Wong said he and his wife did not know Parangalan well, as he would often leave early to go to an internet cafe to apply for jobs. "But five days before her death, Mary Ann entertained some doubts," he said. "She told me that I might regret my decision of letting him stay in our home." Mr Wong said he believed the motive for the murder was "purely monetary". "He must have heard me tell my wife that I did not send money home, and he was looking for some money so he could return home," he said in an interview. He said Dh8,000 was stolen from the house on the day of the murder, as well as a diamond ring, some small pieces of jewellery, and a mobile phone. Parangalan's photo was previously posted at the Philippine Embassy and at the country's overseas labour office in Abu Dhabi. Since 2005, all Philippine diplomatic missions in the GCC have been asked to notify the police if Parangalan applies for a travel document. His passport was found at the scene of the crime. Authorities in neighbouring GCC countries were also alerted. An agent with the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila had informed Mr Wong that during the first quarter of 2006, Parangalan's wife left their home in Cavite and went to work in Saudi Arabia. rruiz@thenational.ae